Chapter 112 – Lion Castle Fortress’ Bloody Battle! (3)

The orc champion rushed forward like a wild boar let loose.

At first, it was just a simple and reckless dash, but the situation of the battle at the gate changed once its red battle qi’s momentum increased. It was not even the ordinary battle qi but a battle qi that was mixed with a berserker’s battle qi. The red energy took on the shape of a wild boar and tried to blast away Iron.

‘Around the 6th Stage…’

Iron had hoped that the orc champion was only at the beginning or middle stages of the 5th Stage but it was just his hopeful wish. Since it was hailed as the orc champion, the orc who led the 5th Stage orc warriors in the battlefield, it would clearly show skills that were close to the 6th Stage.

Nevertheless, Iron knew that he would never be pushed back by its attack.

Thuuuuud!

―Chwiiik!

The orc champion was excited to see that Iron was able to endure its mad rush.

Orcs loved and enjoyed the challenge so it felt happy seeing a worthy opponent in front of it. The orc champion’s eyes turned bloodshot as it began its crazy onslaught of attacks.

The onslaught of attacks almost brought Iron to his breaking point but his special attribute was steel…

“Come, see if you can break me!”

So, Iron injected more steel mana into his mana sword and provoked the orc champion. His stance was so confident as if he never thought of losing at all.

Iron’s dark blue sword completely turned black as he endured the orc champion’s crazy attacks.

The orc champion smiled in satisfaction when it saw Iron did not back down at all.

―Fun! Interesting! Chwik! Chwik! Chwik!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The fight between these two monstrous beings was so fierce that the monsters couldn’t even dare to enter the gaps in the gate hastily. Even the soldiers did not dare take a step out of the ramparts in fear of being swept in their fight.

The battle at the gate became a duel between these two beings.

An attribute that made one become stronger the longer one fought and an attribute that made one more ferocious the more one saw blood. Those were the attributes of a berserker and were attributes that were being explicitly expressed by the orc champion right now. With how things were going, Iron might start to be at a disadvantage. But Iron believed in something.

Crack!

Blue lightning and frost began to form on Iron’s sword.

“The 2nd round begins now.”

This time, Iron was the first one to rush out.

He wanted to use his divine powers but he did not have enough to give the two divine beasts that were assisting the knight order. However, his frost was a power that was not related to his divine power and his lightning was his unique ability.

―Chwik! You’re using strange abilities.

“Is that a problem? All I have to do is win the battle…”

―Chwik! That’s true!

The orc champion agreed with Iron’s words as it released a more ferocious momentum.

Right now, Iron did not have any more powers hidden. He was in a situation where he was betting everything on this fight.

Powerful shock waves formed as Iron and the orc champion clashed against each other. However, they couldn’t fight like this forever.

Iron wanted to drag things out longer but the orc champion was already becoming impatient. It needed to let out a killing move and finish the fight to break through the castle. In addition, it was starting to get harder for it to move thanks to the frost from Iron’s sword. Even the lightning was messing with its senses so it believed that it couldn’t take any more time in this duel. As if finally making up its mind, the orc champion’s movement began to change.

The orc champion swung its axe widely and pushed Iron back as it boosted all of its strength.

―Uwoooooo!

A huge image of a wild boar temporarily appeared from behind the orc champion after it had released all of its strength. This was the incomplete image that champions who have reached the 6th Stage could show. The image might not be tangible like that of a master’s but the power of this incomplete image was tremendous since it contained the will of its owner.

No matter how powerful his frost and lightning was, they were just additional powers. Iron’s real power laid in his steel mana.

“Hoo…”

Iron breathed deeply.

The intense battle qi that the orc champion was emitting indicated that this would be their final showdown.

“Come! I will show you what steel is!”

―Chwik!

The orc champion snorted as it stomped its feet at Iron’s provocation. Then, a huge red wild boar rushed at Iron. The force that slammed into Iron’s steel had a qualitative leap in terms of force. Even the frost energy and lightning energy that surrounded Iron’s body disappeared as the boar tried to blast Iron’s sword away.

Thud!

“Kggggggghk…”

―Chwik!

Iron was forced to take a step back from the tremendous power that was packing in the rush that came straight at him. However, he was still able to endure against such a tremendous force.

And right now, he and the orc champion were emitting energies that were desperately struggling against each other.

“Uwaaaaaaa!”

Iron roared as he placed everything that he had into his steel. Just as the orc champion had bet everything on this final showdown, he was also betting his everything on himself.

Then, as if to answer his call, the energy of nature intertwined with Iron’s divine power as both the energies entered his sword. The energy transformed into the earth’s energy and eventually transformed into steel.

―Chwik! Humaaaaaaan!

The orc champion shrieked at Iron, who was able to hold out against its attack, and struck out its axe. However, Iron’s sword was able to endure it.

Frost that covered his steel sword, the lightning that flowed inside it, and nature’s energy. All of these powers showed up in his steel. And as soon as all of these powers were contained in his sword, the most familiar sword movements appeared in Iron’s head.

It was the sword skill that he had trained the most after he reincarnated and the most basic swordsmanship of this world. The sword technique that he had chosen because it was the simplest among all of the other sword techniques. The basic swordsmanship.

Iron moved following the movements of the very first strike that he had trained among the swordsmanship movements, the downward strike.

Crack! Crack, crack, crack!

―Kghhk…

“Hoo…”

Compared to the orc champion that was continuously being pushed back, Iron’s face was comfortable and relaxed.

Only the simplest swordsmanship imbued with steel mana unfolded between them but the orc couldn’t stop it.

A downward strike pushed it back.

A horizontal slash parried its axe.

A diagonal slash cut the image of the wild boar in two.

And finally, a stab…

―Kghk!

The orc champion, whose heart was stabbed, stared blankly at Iron.

―G… good… fight…

Seeing the orc champion vomiting blood, Iron nodded his head as he slit its throat. It was his respect and courtesy for this brave warrior.

The bloody battle between these two beings at the northern gate ended with Iron’s victory.

Whether it was the monsters or the humans, all of them were watching the duel. Seeing the bloody battle end with Iron’s win, the soldiers roared loudly while the monsters’ morale went down the drain.

However, the war did not end with this duel.

―Chwik! Revenge for our leader!

―Revenge! Chwik!

All the orcs released their battle qi as they charged at once at the cry of one of the orc warriors. The ogres stayed still and made sure that the gates wouldn’t close while the orcs and the dire wolves rushed inside.

“I’ll cut all of you down.”

Thanks to Baepsae, who fluttered down and healed Iron’s injuries and revitalized his mana and stamina, Iron was able to block the monsters’ charge alone. Was it because they saw Iron struggling alone by the gate? The soldiers who were hiding behind the walls grabbed their spears and assisted Iron.

With the soldiers taking care of the monsters that slipped past him, Iron did not need to take another swing to kill them. Because of that, Iron was able to let loose and swing his sword like crazy. He looked like he was in a trance as he danced with his sword.

A monster would fall and die with every swing and flick of his sword. Iron was soaked with the monsters’ green blood as their corpses piled up around him. But he continued to swing his sword.

The more he swung his sword, the simpler, neater and faster his sword became. His sword gradually adjusted to his steel mana as if he was fitting newly tailored clothes on his body. His basic swordsmanship gradually turned into the imperial basic swordsmanship until it became more complex and diverse in movements. His sword technique gradually changed into one that suited his attribute, steel mana.

His movements were thankfully changing towards the direction that he wanted. The core of his swordsmanship was basic swordsmanship. The foundation was tailored from the Imperial basic swordsmanship. And the diversity was derived from Iron’s experiences that melted in his sword.

Finally, Iron’s sword technique began to take shape with his steel mana and will.

Sword imprinting.

A step that must be taken for one to reach the 6th Stage.

And right now, Iron was in the middle of carrying it out.

The sight of him blocking the monster corps alone while imprinting his own sword technique in front of the gate was truly a sight to see.

How many people in the world could imprint their sword while fighting in an actual battle?

The soldiers behind him and above the walls were all in awe as they witnessed this scene. This was because they were personally witnessing the reason why those who had reached the 6th Stage deserved respect.

“Kghhk!”

Iron coughed up a bit of blood after he imprinted his sword technique.

“Haa… Haaa…”

His hands were trembling and his body felt weak. In fact, he looked like he was going to collapse any second now. However, all he did was grit his teeth and hold out as long as he could.

The monsters stopped rushing to this monstrous being who cut hundreds of them all by himself.

― Achievement! You have accomplished the ‘Iron Wall’. Your steel-like appearance that does not break under any circumstance will make the others have a new perspective of the path of steel, a path that has always been ignored.

― Iron Wall’s effect will temporarily double your steel mana whenever you’re defending or protecting something.

― Achievement! You have accomplished the ‘Indomitable Will’. With your indomitable will, you will not give up no matter the circumstances. In the event of a crisis, all of your abilities will temporarily increase by 30%.

The sound of the notifications indicating his achievements rang loudly in his ears. However, despite the effect of his achievements, Iron’s body still faltered from the exhaustion.

―Chwik! Charge!

“St… Stop them!”

The monsters realized that there was something abnormal with Iron’s body so they charged forward. Seeing this, the soldiers and officers hurriedly pushed and closed the gates.

A fierce battle once again began at the gates.

―Tweet, tweet, tweet!

Baepsae sang its song to the very best of its abilities. Its song raised the morale of the troops while healing the injured.

Iron also returned to battle after he calmed down and stood up with his staggering body. He did his best to push away the monsters with the soldiers with the remaining mana in his body.

Everyone present gathered all of their strength and worked hard to protect that Lion Castle Fortress despite their trembling and shaking legs. However, as time continued to pass, the human’s side began to get pushed back.

When the divine beasts were recalled, the knights, who went forward to kill the lords and the sorcerers, lost their help and gradually got cornered.

“Without fail! We have to kill them! Think of the sacrifices of the people left in Lion Castle Fortress who sent us all the way here!”

“Dog-shit monster bastards!”

Silverstein shouted as he threw up blood while Kaiden spat out curses while swinging his sword. Despite the hard work of the two, the knight order was still losing ground.

The ogre lord had overwhelming power and it was already too much for Silverstein to tie one up. And there were even a goblin lord, an orc lord, and a troll lord that needed to be tied up. The sorcerers even made it harder for them to fight as they continued to strengthen these lords.

The moment they realized that they would face annihilation if they continued in this state…

Clip, clop, clip, clop!

Magical bombs fell down on the sorcerers as the sound of the hooves of the horses running from afar rang in the area.

At the same time, dozens of airships appeared in the sky and began to drop bombs on the monster corps.

Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!

The monster lords became furious at the sight of the monster corps being killed by the rain of bombs. They gathered all their strengths and increased their momentum with the intention of finishing off the knight order in one fell swoop.

But that was also bound to be stopped.

“Northeastern Army’s Fourth Knight Order Team Leader! Ariel Favrice! We came here to support you!”

“Northern Army! Special Operations Unit! Here to support you!”

“Winstell troops here to help!”

Support troops from all over the place appeared from all directions and pressured the monster corps that were pushing forward to the Lion Castle Fortress. Thanks to that, the monster corps collapsed and fell into confusion.

The lords, who watched this scene, stared at the knight order and spoke.

―Chwik! Retreat.

The sound of the trumpets rang loudly with the orc lord’s words. Hearing the sound, the monster corps began to retreat.

They knew that they would only face annihilation if they still continued to remain here.

“Don’t chase!”

“Don’t follow them!”

The troops hurriedly returned to Lion Castle Fortress as they ordered to stop chasing the retreating monster corps.

When they returned, they saw the half-collapsed northern gate and the walls that were destroyed in some places. They also saw the bodies of the soldiers, who died protecting these walls, scattered all over the place.

“Ah…”

One of the officers looked beyond the collapsed gate with a look of awe on his face.

There beyond the gate were officers and soldiers gathered around Iron. He couldn’t help but admire these people who were bloody, injured and exhausted but still held out and stopped the monsters from entering the fortress.

The support troops that came saluted the heroes who protected and kept the Lion Castle Fortress safe.

These people, who protected the Lion Castle Fortress to the end, were the true heroes. And at the center of these people was none other than Iron, a person that caused waves wherever he went.